Alexander II

Question 1

when did alexander II come to power?

Answer 1

Mar 1855 at 36 years

Question 2

what did alexander II’s father tell him on his deathbed?

Answer 2

“hold on to everything [autocracy]”; influenced autocratic actions

Question 3

was alexander II a well-prepared tsar?

Answer 3

yes; well-trained by father, “best prepared heir the russian throne ever had” (lionel kochan)

Question 4

what problems did alexander II face upon claiming the throne?

Answer 4

crimean war oct 1853 (or 1854) -feb 1856, objections to serfdom, peasant revolts

Question 5

what was the crimean war about?

Answer 5

battle over rights of christian minorities in Holy Land between russia and britain, france, ottoman empire, and sardinia

Question 6

why did russia lose the crimean war?

Answer 6

Communication
* only 60,000/1 million soldiers were summoned)
Industry
* backwards, unmodernized
Military
* poorly equipped, prone to disease, spread thin
Administration
* corrupt

Question 7

why did the russian people object to serfdom?

Answer 7

Moral
* even Nicholas I said it was “evil”
Military
* unproductive, uneducated army
Modernization
* occupied potential industry workers, prevented educated population growth
Economic
* prevented enterprise and free movement

Question 8

how many peasant revolts had there been from in the 1840s russia?

Answer 8

over 350 from 1844-45

Question 9

who was alexander II assassinated by, and when?

Answer 9

Jewish Narodraya Volya of The People’s Will terrorist group in 1881

Question 10

what were the aims for alexander II’s reforms?

Answer 10

• protect autocracy; “better to abolish serfdom from above than to wait for… it… to abolish itself from below” (alexander II, 1856)
• strengthen tsarist state

Question 11

what were the obstacles to alexander II’s emancipation of serfs?

Answer 11

• noble hostility
• risk of anarchy and chaos, social structure upset
• lengthy considerations resulted in Emancipation Edict taking 5 years to form (Mar 1856-Feb 1861)

Question 12

what did private serfs get out of the emancipation edict?

Answer 12

• minimum land allotments, but 75% were 20% smaller than old land, only 80% what is needed to feed peasant family
• 2-year transition period

Question 13

what did state serfs get out of the emancipation edict?

Answer 13

• larger land allotments
• 5-year transition

Question 14

what did house serfs get out of the emancipation edict?

Answer 14

• no land or transition period

Question 15

what did all serfs get out of the emancipation edict?

Answer 15

• rights to own land, marry freely, start business, use courts of law
• had to pay “redemption dues” over 49 years with 6% interest so government could compensate landlords

Question 16

what was the Mir?

Answer 16

self-governing community of peasants with elected officials; collected dues and taxes, controlled money, farming, and land

Question 17

what was the peasants’ response to emancipation?

Answer 17

dissatisfied with moderate changes, felt unjust to pay for land they thought was theirs by right

Question 18

who was prince kropotkin, and how did he think the peasants would respond to emancipation?

Answer 18

serf-owner and anarchist, thought would accept with “enthusiasm”

Question 19

what was the nobles’ response to emancipation?

Answer 19

hated radical changes and losing status, felt betrayed they were not consulted

Question 20

what were successes of the serfs’ emancipation?

Answer 20

• 40 million freed within a few years, radical social/economic change
• 85% serfs became landowners within 20 years
• pesant disturbances decreased in next 40 years

Question 21

what were failures of the serfs’ emancipation?

Answer 21

• slow process because prioritized landowners
• land allotments too small and compensation too expensive
• decreased wealth/living for house serfs, who got no land
• mir gave land in narrow strips, prevented enterprise; no new class prosperous consumers
• industry still backwards

Question 22

what legal reforms did alexander II implement?

Answer 22

• 1864: new independent judiciary system, well-paid judges, jury, public courts

Question 23

what were the pros of alexander II’s legal reforms?

Answer 23

fair trials (“equal for all our subjects,” “the court-room was the 1 place in russia where real freedom of speech prevailed” (hugh seton-watson)), prevented bribery

Question 24

what were the cons of alexander II’s legal reforms?

Answer 24

political trials were removed, secret police could still arrest opposition

Question 25

what government reforms did alexander II implement?

Answer 25

• created local government zemstvo 1864 and urban assembly duma 1870, controlled public health, roads, agriculture, education
• zemstvo run by nobility, supported traditional government

Question 26

what were the pros of alexander II’s government reforms?

Answer 26

way to control peasants, step towards democracy

Question 27

what were the cons of alexander II’s government reforms?

Answer 27

police were controlled, zemstvo overruled by provisional government and lacked funding, vote weighted to landowners

Question 28

who was alexander II’s minister of war?

Answer 28

dmitri milyutin

Question 29

what military reforms did milyutin implement from 1874-75?

Answer 29

• decreased conscription to 6 years service, 9 years reserve, included nobles over 20 also
• abolished brutal punishments

Question 30

what were the pros of milyutin’s reforms?

Answer 30

decreasing conscription made it not “life sentence,” increased morale, efficiency/productivity, noble engagement/funding; educated army results in better strategies and technology

Question 31

what were the cons of milyutin’s reforms?

Answer 31

military technology still behind

Question 32

what educational reforms did alexander II implement?